Greetings from Zambia

Hi Everyone, and welcome to the blog of the VSO ICS Team 40 in Zambia. We are a group of 24, 18-25 year olds, from both the UK and Zambia, who are volunteering in a town called Choma in the Southern Province of Zambia for 12 weeks, to help combat the spread of HIV and AIDS, and to educate the local citizens on their reproductive health rights.

First of all, let me explain just what the VSO ICS exactly is. It stands for Voluntary Service Overseas,
International Citizen Service. The VSO is a non-governmental organization, based in the UK, who
offers aid to any country that requires it, in all sectors, ranging from sexual health, to poverty and
natural disasters. The ICS is an organization, specifically for young people, and was set up by 6 parent organizations, one of which is the VSO. The ICS aims to offer sustainable help to developing nations, whilst creating ‘global citizens’ from both the host and the visiting nations.

So on the 1st of March 2013, 12 British Volunteers flew from Heathrow and arrived at Lusaka airport to travel to Choma and meet our Zambian Counterparts. Whilst in Zambia, the 24 of us are staying in  host homes, meaning that one Zambian and one UK volunteer will be living, for 12 weeks, in the home of a local citizen. For the British volunteers, this is a huge part of the programme, as it means that it’s one hell of a lot easier to adapt to the culture, learn the language, and generally fit in, if you are living and breathing Zambian life 24/7.

Whilst here in Choma, the 24 of us have been divided between 6 different work placements, each
addressing different members of the community. If you’ve done the maths, you’ll have worked out that at each placement there are two UK volunteers and two Zambian volunteers. For four days of the week, we are working in our placements. This basically involves working in local health clinics, or giving talks to groups of young people on their reproductive health rights, and protection against the spread of HIV and AIDS. About once every two weeks, all 24 of us come together to do a Community Action Day, also known as a CAD. This essentially means that the entire group comes together and organizes a day in which we go into the community and contribute to the local development of Choma. One of the biggest problems that we have noticed whilst here is that of litter, and general lack of waste management. On our first CAD therefore, we are planning on doing a litter sweep of the main high street, and to request a budget from the council for general waste bins on the main road and in the market.

One of the issues that the volunteers, and particularly the UK volunteers, found, was that the culture in Zambia is incredibly different to that of the British Culture. Each volunteer has been given an opposite national counterpart, and so the Zambians are able to learn about British culture, and the British volunteers are able to get through daily life without mistakenly insulting half of the population of Choma.

To get involved with VSO ICS, and for more info, visit www.vso.co.uk

Follow us at @ICSTeam40Zambia, and don't forget to like us on facebook.

Written by Claire Constance